In addition to the normal avenue of acquiring a professor and RA before acceptance to the program, we now have RA and TA positions for the first year that are not tied to individual faculty. These positions will allow high quality US citizens and permanent residents to join the Materials Science Program and experience various research groups before committing to a major professor.

RAs
Successful applicants for the research Assistantships (RAs) will have an enhanced first year (and overall graduate experience) because they will be able to focus on their core courses while sampling research life in different groups. In order to ensure that the full advantages of this program are experienced by the students, we have established a mandatory rotation program for each RA winner. They must spend 5 weeks in each of four different laboratories. They will be allowed to choose which laboratories, subject to the constraints that: a) at least one must be that of a faculty member new to the program, and b) at least one must be an assistant professor.
Selection for the RA positions will be made by the Graduate Advisory Committee upon review of a completed Graduate School and Program application package.

TAs
A few positions as teaching assistants (TAs) are available through the departments of Chemistry and Physics. Successful applicants need not have a BS in Physics or Chemistry to qualify. They need only meet the departmental criteria for assisting at the freshman level (generally one or two courses beyond the freshman level. They must have excellent English language skills.

Long Term Support
Currently, about 90% of our 33 PhD students have research grant funded RA's. The remainder are on TAs. This is a huge ratio compared to other departments and disciplines. While we cannot guarantee that every student will have continuous support through their entire graduate career, we have always been able to find support for students in good standing. As a program, we are committed to continuing this tradition. Thus, if your GPA stays above a 3.0, you pass your qualifiers and prelims on schedule, and are making good progress in your research, the program Chair and the faculty will make every to see that you have some form of support.

Applying
When you complete your application to the program and the graduate school, just send Lori Bruce and/or the Program Chair an email requesting consideration.